Critique my ECs!

[cpufreak3]

About me:

Electrical Engineer w/ minor in Bioelectrical engineering
Overall GPA: 3.9
Science GPA: 3.9
MCAT: TBD

8 months - research in clean room for DNA sequencing (no publications)
1yr - Intern at utility company (one IEEE publication on solar)
Other part-time work (web development for engineering, IT Support)

Shadowing/volunteering at emergency medical center. 5/hrs a week, approaching 50 hours.

Webmaster for "Making Doctors" club

Other things that I don't think weigh much: Engineering Honor Society (HKN), Tau Beta Pi (Honor Society), University Honors Program

So my question is: do my ECs seem around average, and what can I do to improve them?

Time is a constraint, I'll be applying this summer (I'm a Junior)

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[rHinO1]

About me:

Electrical Engineer w/ minor in Bioelectrical engineering
Overall GPA: 3.9
Science GPA: 3.9
MCAT: TBD

8 months - research in clean room for DNA sequencing (no publications)
1yr - Intern at utility company (one IEEE publication on solar)
Other part-time work (web development for engineering, IT Support)

Shadowing/volunteering at emergency medical center. 5/hrs a week, approaching 50 hours.

Webmaster for "Making Doctors" club

Other things that I don't think weigh much: Engineering Honor Society (HKN), Tau Beta Pi (Honor Society), University Honors Program

So my question is: do my ECs seem around average, and what can I do to improve them?

Time is a constraint, I'll be applying this summer (I'm a Junior)

Your clinical experience is very light. Shadowing and volunteering are listed separately btw. IMO volunteering is worth more. You will need to get significantly more hours before you apply. Your GPA looks good and your other EC's are ok. However, you should also have some type of community service volunteer work in addition to the hospital gig. It seems like most applicants have these things so you should work on getting them to be competitive.

 

[thestrokes14]

I am in the exact same boat as you. Very impressive GPA for an engineering major (hopefully from a pretty good school). From what I hear, you will have a good shot at any med school if you deliver on the MCAT. When are you planning on taking it?

 

[MiniMoo]

Your EC's are pretty weak, to be honest. Most people try to gain about 100-150 hours of clinical/hospital volunteering with an additional 50 hours or so of shadowing by the time they apply (yes these two things are considered separately). It's also important to shadow a variety of different doctors in different fields. I would try to get this part of your application fixed asap. Just browse this forum a bit longer and it becomes apparent that an impressive GPA/MCAT will not make up for a severe lack of clinical experience.

I also don't see any kind of teaching, leadership, or non-medical volunteering/community service.. unless you neglected to list them?

 

[rHinO1]

I am in the exact same boat as you. Very impressive GPA for an engineering major (hopefully from a pretty good school). From what I hear, you will have a good shot at any med school if you deliver on the MCAT. When are you planning on taking it?

Although your major should help you to stand out, nobody is exempt from gaining significant clinical experience before they apply. It is probably the biggest unwritten rule in the game.

 

[Catalystik]

Your ECs are well below average. You've had about 10 weeks of clinical experience so far(projected to be 5.5 months at application time) when most have 1.5 years. You will not measure up well to your competition. It looks like you decided to apply to med school over the winter break.

The research is fine for med schools without a research orientation, but where is your nonmedical community service? What about teaching, leadership, hobbies, sports, and artistic endeavors?

You can include all the honors in one space. They don't help much because most of us have similiar things to list.

I really don't see you as being ready to apply this summer. Consider rethinking that plan.

 

[Morsetlis]

I see you being ready to apply after working/researching and volunteering (clinical) for 1 year.

Remember, 3.9 GPA's do get rejected.

However, your enormous brain might just carry you into a research-oriented school. But then again, you have no publications.

Amazing GPA and majors, by the way. I didn't even know bioelectrical engineering existed.

 

[cpufreak3]

Reason for my lack of volunteer work is due to "paid" positions to pay for tuition.

I know it's no excuse (and that's why I didn't put it in my original post), but I'm paying all my expenses as I go = no loan when I graduate.

As for some other things:

Sports: intramurals only (flag football, softball)

One thing I forgot to mention, I did part of my research as no credits/no pay, so I assume that counts for volunteering?

I've got 250+ hours of volunteering in the hospital (pharmacy and OR) over high school, but that probably doesn't count - this is the main reason why I haven't done much med-related stuff - I already knew I would be planning med school. That's the reason why I took classes not part of my major - organic, bio.

I plan on taking the MCATs in April or May, will be signing up soon.

I'll also start applying in June for schools, I'm not going to wait one year.

So the consensus is I need to pick up my clinical/volunteer hours?

I'm planning on shadowing another doctor soon.

Any suggestions on what I should do for volunteering?

FYI: I'm not trying to get into a top school. I'd like to go to a decent US school, however.

Are clinical, volunteering, and shadowing all different?

 

[alibai3ah]

Your EC's aren't below average but make me question why you want to do medicine....All the good stuff is all engineering related. With a bit of shadowing thrown in there. You need to show adcomms that this is the career that you want or else you should get your PhD in EE.

Get more research (clinical related), community service (clinical), volunteer (clinical), just do something that's related to a hospital and/or patients.

 

[alibai3ah]

Reason for my lack of volunteer work is due to "paid" positions to pay for tuition.

I know it's no excuse (and that's why I didn't put it in my original post), but I'm paying all my expenses as I go = no loan when I graduate.

As for some other things:

Sports: intramurals only (flag football, softball)

One thing I forgot to mention, I did part of my research as no credits/no pay, so I assume that counts for volunteering?

I've got 250+ hours of volunteering in the hospital (pharmacy and OR) over high school, but that probably doesn't count - this is the main reason why I haven't done much med-related stuff - I already knew I would be planning med school. That's the reason why I took classes not part of my major - organic, bio.

I plan on taking the MCATs in April or May, will be signing up soon.

I'll also start applying in June for schools, I'm not going to wait one year.

So the consensus is I need to pick up my clinical/volunteer hours?

I'm planning on shadowing another doctor soon.

Any suggestions on what I should do for volunteering?

FYI: I'm not trying to get into a top school. I'd like to go to a decent US school, however.

Are clinical, volunteering, and shadowing all different?

Very much so. I would advise you to take off a year to make your application stronger. B/c anything you do now would only take up about 3 months....While I think with a high MCAT score you might be able to get in somewhere, it may not be the school that you want. Your EC's really show nothing about your committment to medicine. Like I said before, you'd be a great applicant for a PhD program in engineering but how do you even know you want to be a doctor. High school doesn't count. Interest change a lot in four years...and the fact that you haven't done anything since high school only shows that you got bored or didn't want to....

Advice:
Volunteering at a free clinic is great.
Clinical experience could be doing clinical research, volunteering at an ER, etc.
Shadowing is a small activity, only 50 hours is really enough. I think it's useless after that

 

[Catalystik]

It is said that you should not include HS experiences, but an exception to the rule is when your HS activity continues into the college years. Somehow I'd try to list the HS hours in the pharmacy and OR and the recent hours in the ER so your application will be taken seriously, giving a grand total. And beef up the shadowing before you apply.

Be sure to include all your paid employment so adcomms can see why you were to busy to do much else.

Research is listed as Research, whether paid, classwork, or volunteer.

Put intramural sports under Hobbies.

So besides continuing with your current clinical volunteering, get in some nonmedical community service, like soup kitchen, homeless shelter, Humane Society, crisis hotline, but ideally for a cause you care about.

Most important, keep up the two types of volunteering over the next year (and the research) so you have pertinent activity to mention in update letters, during interviews, and if worse comes to worst, lots of improvements for a reapplication if necessary.

 

[MiniMoo]

Reason for my lack of volunteer work is due to "paid" positions to pay for tuition.

I know it's no excuse (and that's why I didn't put it in my original post), but I'm paying all my expenses as I go = no loan when I graduate.

As for some other things:

Sports: intramurals only (flag football, softball)

One thing I forgot to mention, I did part of my research as no credits/no pay, so I assume that counts for volunteering?

I've got 250+ hours of volunteering in the hospital (pharmacy and OR) over high school, but that probably doesn't count - this is the main reason why I haven't done much med-related stuff - I already knew I would be planning med school. That's the reason why I took classes not part of my major - organic, bio.

I plan on taking the MCATs in April or May, will be signing up soon.

I'll also start applying in June for schools, I'm not going to wait one year.

So the consensus is I need to pick up my clinical/volunteer hours?

I'm planning on shadowing another doctor soon.

Any suggestions on what I should do for volunteering?

FYI: I'm not trying to get into a top school. I'd like to go to a decent US school, however.

Are clinical, volunteering, and shadowing all different?

That's your choice, but having so little clinical experience is going to really hurt your application. If you're dead set on applying this June, I would volunteer/shadow my butt off between now and then and hope for the best.

 

[alohameans]

Woah I'd trade some of my EC for some of your gpa
what school do you go to?

 

[cpufreak3]

I go to the University of Delaware - not the best school, but ranked decently (top 10 bang for buck school).

I have a decent amount of time left (I only have classes Tues/Thurs) so that leaves me 5 days/week.

I can quit/cut back my part-time job if needed to get hours.

So:

Shadowing - on track
Need to volunteer at the hospital - I can get this done (this will count for clinical work I believe)
Non-medical volunteering

One thing I should note, even though I shadow, I do other work there. Nothing too hard, paper work, speaking with patients before the Dr gets in, helping with minor procedures (stitches, casts, etc).

 

[Morsetlis]

Well, you could split some of the shadowing up as volunteering. However, you really do need non-medical as well as medical volunteering. Perhaps you could think of some pro bono webmastering work for community clinics? I dunno.

 

[cpufreak3]

I'm planning on tutoring weekly on campus through the engineering society.

I looked up some opportunities online, and it looks like they need someone to teach PC use at a hospital.

I'm trying to help in ways that will utilize some of the knowledge I have.

I was thinking about offering free tutoring sessions on chem/phys, but I have no idea how to keep track of legit hours.

 

[Morsetlis]

The beauty of it is you don't...

Could get some phone # or letters of reference for tutoring I suppose. Not that I'd use those are LORs.

 

[Catalystik]

The beauty of it is you don't...

Could get some phone # or letters of reference for tutoring I suppose. Not that I'd use those are LORs.

Yeah, its an honor system. Keep track of your own tutoring hours and report them. Have one tutoree's contact info just in case (unlikely to be contacted though).

Having a common theme between your special skills and community service is nice to see.

 

[cpufreak3]

Thanks guys. I appreciate everyone's help.

I'll get on this ASAP.